A Bloody Love
by Bittersweet Treats
Summary: Lance kept his ‘condition’ under wraps after he was diagnosed with it as a child. He’d learned to hide it and mimick the people around him to avoid detection. He even managed to hide it when he was launched into space. But all it takes is one mistake to change everything.


Lance had always known he was different.

Perhaps is was the way that death didn't phase him. Perhaps it was the fact that he didn't understand other humans and their silly little emotions.

For as long as he could remember, his world had been gray and desolate. The happy smiles and bright laughs that his cousins spilled into the air were foreign to Lance. The out of breath secrets and nervous shifting from his siblings were strange happenstances. The soft warm smiles of his mother confused him and the rage of his father peaked his curiosity. But, those emotions they felt were strange to Lance. No matter how hard he tries to replicate the situation that made them feel a specific way, it did nothing.

He remembers one specific day. He and his cousins, Richie and Solomon, were playing outside on an old playset that belonged to their grandparents. The adults were inside talking to each other.

Solomon was pretending to be a king, standing at the top of the playhouse. Richie and Lance were at the bottom, listening to him talk.

One small missed step ended up with Solomon screaming on the ground and Richie crying in sympathy as he also collapsed.

Lance remembered staring at Richie in confusion. He understood that Solomon had hurt himself, but why was Richie crying. It did not look like he had been hurt.

He adults rushed out of the house and to the crying toddlers. Lance was confused by the concern on the faces of his grandparents and then his own parents. Why should they be worried about a child that was not their own?

Once, he had asked his parents why he was like that. Why he was so different from everyone else.

His father had grown angry and locked Lance in his room with no explanation.

His mother though, had watched him with eyes that seemed to match his own. A small satisfied smile had grown on her lips as he was being dragged upstairs. Like she knew why he was the way he was.

It wasn't until a couple years later, at the age of eight that he asked his parents why he was different again.

The response was the same. A gentle knowing smile from his mother and unexplained rage from his father.

Again he was locked in his room that night. He watched from his window as his siblings played outside with the family dog. Smiling and laughing in a way he didn't know how.

It was finally at the age ten was when he got his answer. His father was out at work, and his mother was in the kitchen making lunch. His eldest sibling, Veronica, was over at a friends house. The others were off doing their own things outside.

His mother was humming as song as she chopped vegetables. Lance was sitting at the counter using markers to color in a coloring book.

Their family dog, Tammy, wandered into the room from the backyard. She was an old animal, having been a gift for Veronica when she was five. They had no other pets, though everyone was content with this one animal.

But she really was getting up there in age. Her eyes were beginning to go cloudy, her fur losing its silky sheen of youth. She hobbled on old joints that probably ached.

Their mother had suggested a couple of times they put the dog down, but she was always ignored in favor of another subject. Veronica was too attached to the dog, and the other children didn't know life without her. Their father had said Tammy had a few more years in her.

Lance sided with their mom however. He couldn't understand the sentiment of holding onto something that was loved. And even if it was loved, it was old and hurt, it needed to pass on into the afterlife.

His mother paused in her chopping to stare at the dog as she sat down with a wheezing huff. Lance was oblivious to this, or perhaps he didn't care.

The woman watched the dog for a moment, clenching the knife in her hands. Anger seemed to radiate off of her form, catching her only sons attention. He looked up at his mother, a dull curiosity sparkling in his eyes.

"Leandro, would you tell on mommy if she were to take care of the dog?" She asked with a monotone voice.

Lance tilted his head to the side and stared at her, "No. I wouldn't."

He was still young, so he did not quite understand the implications of those words. In his mind, he knew what 'take care' meant, to nurture and love. But the way she had said it made him think his ideas were wrong.

Her brown eyes settled on him, a gentle smile playing on her lips. It was rare to see his mother smile if their father wasn't present.

"I'll explain everything after this. Everything your father tried to hide from you."

After she said that, she moved around the counter and towards the dog. The knife in her hand was quickly flipped. The dog looked up when his mother got close, her cloudy eyes not registering the person there. But the scent and sound were familiar.

Lance watched his mother end the life of the family dog quickly and gently. The dog barely had time to register what was happening before the kitchen knife was lodged in its head.

He felt nothing then. He knew that if his siblings had been present, they would have screamed and cried. Veronica would have leapt at their mother screeching. But he felt nothing. No sadness, no guilt. Absolutely nothing.

"Come help mommy move her into the garage."

Lance left from his seat, quickly going to his mother's side to move the dog. It wasn't heavy, as if the thing that gave the creature all its weight was life.

They quickly shot through the house and into the cold garage. It was overflowing with camping supplies, barbeque supplies, old toys and games that the family hadn't touched in years or ever. There was a broken down skeleton of a car that father had promised to fix one day.

His mother dragged the body over to a corner hidden away. The body wouldn't be found unless someone was looking for it specifically.

"Alright Leandro. Let me talk with you." His mother beckoned him over to her while she sat on the concrete steps that led back inside the house.

"There is something that runs in our family. It is called Yandere Disease. In a way, it is a form of psychopathy that can be passed down from parents to offspring. It is a very special kind of disease. Those that suffer from it find no interest in many things or love in many people. That is until they meet the one. The one that completes them as a person."

"What do you mean by that Mom?"

The woman smiled kindly at her son, happiness swelling in her heart that at least one child was like her, "One day, you will meet someone who will paint the world in color. When you are around them, you will feel emotions that are so strong, they'll knock you off your feet. They will give you everything that you cannot make for yourself. Right now, you cannot understand that death is a bad thing, that killing is wrong, that you should love the people who are your family. You know these concepts, but you do not understand them. Am I right?"

Lance nodded.

"When you meet this person, they will give you the ability to understand all that and more. You will feel what love is, what rage is. You will understand the world at last."

The little boy frowned and looked at the floor, "So, I have to wait for them? What happens if I don't want them. I'm fine the way that I am."

"Oh, Leandro. You don't understand right now, but when you meet your other half, you will never want to let them go. I promise that you will understand in time. But while you wait, it is best if you imitate the people around you. If your sisters smile, learn what they smile at an imitate that when you see it again. Learn about people and try to match them. That way, you will remain safe in public. Not seen as different."

Anna McClain swept her sons hair out of his face and kissed his forehead.

"Momma, what about the dog. If dad is your other half, aren't you supposed to love her too?" He asked, staring at where he knew the corps was hidden.

She sighed and stood up with Lance still on her hip, something that Lance was slightly surprised about since he was taller than most people his age. At ten, most parents would stop picking their children up. "She was old and suffering. While your father does complete me, I can also understand that sometimes, you must let things go. Even if you have to kill a beloved pet. Tammy was old, she would have died sooner rather than later. I merely put her out of her misery while your father and siblings would rather have watched her suffer."

The child nodded as if he understood. His mother set him down and guided him back to the kitchen where they resumed their previous activities as if the dog hadn't just been killed. As if Lance hadn't just been told the secret to the reason he was different.

XxXxXxXxX

Lance went to the Garrison a few years later. He'd signed up with the encouragement of his sisters (who he was much closer to now that he was trying to imitate them) because he'd showed interest in the stars.

He hadn't really cared if he went or not, but the moment he set his eyes on Keith Kogane he understood that attending this small private academy three states away from home had been destiny.

Keith was a shorter student out of the cadets, but he was by far the most experienced. When the students were put into simulators, he aced every single one. Lance admired his skill.

Actually, Lance admired more about Keith than most people would.

Keith violet eyes were unnatural, but they held an unearthly glow that Lance could have spent the rest of eternity staring into. His black hair, though cut into a mullet that was way out of style, looked soft. Lance wanted to run his fingers through it again and again while he cuddled the shorter male to his chest and protected the boy from every single threat.

It was just as his mother had said. This boy, though they had never talked, was his other half. He completed Lance. He gave Lance the chance and ability to feel love, excitement, playful competition, and absolute rage.

Lance watched Keith every chance he got. He had to. If he didn't someone else could take what was his, what completed him and made him happy. So, when a young girl also in their class flirted with him, what else was Lance supposed to do other than eliminate her from the picture.

He didn't kill her, but there was no way she was going to stay at the Garrison and threaten Lances only change at normalcy.

For months, Lance watched Keith. Stalked him in the hallways, made sure he got away with things if he needed to. It wasn't an accidental power failure that killed the lights when Keith was trying to sneak out, but Lance would let everyone else think it was.

So the day that Keith got expelled from the Garrison for insubordination and violent behavior not fitting a student of the academy, Lance may or may not have tracked down Iverson's family and left a death threat entailing every single thing that he would do to them. He did not doubt that without context, Iverson and his family were thoroughly confused about the threat, but he couldn't have cared less.

From then on, Lance had limited contact with Keith. Hunk never questioned why his roommate came back late, or sometimes wouldn't show up to class. He received letter after letter from his father asking why his grades were slipping and why he wasn't showing up to class. But nothing matter half as much as Keith did, even if it meant ruining his chances at this school.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Lance watched from Pidge's computer as Keith distracted the guards and couldn't help the affection intermingled with jealousy and worry overtake him. What was Keith thinking! He could have gotten hurt!

The boy stood, claiming that Keith couldn't save Shiro, because it was his job. This prompted a groan from Hunk. Pidge, however, was more than willing to race in to help.

The group of three raced after the black haired boy, joining him in the room with Shiro and helping him out of it. Lance felt sparks of adoration shoot down his arm when Keith made contact with his arm.

"Ya know, Keith and Lance. Neck in Neck! You seriously don't know me?" He complained out loud with wide eyes and a facefull of dismay. Keith glanced at him from across Shiro's shoulders. His violet eyes were filled with annoyance and confusion.

"I've never heard of you."

Lance could feel the sharp sting of the words lash at his chest. It took almost everything in him to stay upright at the proclamation. Not that it surprised him.

He had made sure Keith never saw him in the entirety of his stay at the Garrison to avoid the detection of his stalking. It would have been quite something to explain why Keith was always seeing him around, especially when he was expelled.

The five stumbled their way outside to find armed officials speeding towards the encampment.

"Come on. This way." The black haired boy dragged Shiro and consequently Lance towards a red hoverbike. They threw the older man over it and climbed on. It purred quietly when Keith revved the engine and pressed the accelerator. It sped off just as government jeeps rounded the outpost, Iverson hanging out of the lead vehicles passenger side window.

"Come on, can't this thing go any faster," Hunk called from the back where he was currently panicking over the people on their tail. His brown eyes were opened wide and the pupils were blown big. He was clenched tightly to the seat with a nervous anxiety.

Keith glanced back over his shoulder at his three unexpected passengers, 'We could, but we'd have to get rid of some extra weight."

"Oh! Good ide-wait." Lance pouted at the back of Keith's head, "Very funny."

That brought a grin onto the boys face, sending a flutter of satisfaction down into Lance's gut.

The bike continued tearing across the desert, throwing a trail of kicked up sand. The garrison officers were hard on their tail, making it difficult to turn specific ways or relax. At last, they reached a drop off.

Lance stared at it with confusion. Why was Keith driving right towards the drop off? He did know that going off the edge could kill all five of them.

"What are you doing!!??" Hunk screeched.

"You're all going to want to hold on. This might be a bumpy ride."

Lance gripped Shiro's arm tighter, burying his face in Hunks shoulder as, for the first time that he could remember, he felt fear leak into him. It was not a pleasant feeling. He would rather go back to being impartial about everything then ever feel this emotion again.

Keith plunged the bike of the cliffside, causing Hunk to scream in fear and squeeze the life from Lance's arm. They landed with a thud and the motorbike sputtered under the stress of the weight and the landing before zooming out into the dark desert. The cuban boy gulped down the bile that weakly claws up his throat.

"Are you trying to kill us!" Pidge asked hysterically from his seat, brown eyes wide in shock and terror, "Like, I know you may be an experienced runner away from things man, but driving us off a cliff when it is very likely that we are to crash!"

"Would you rather get caught?"

"Being alive is always better than dying."

"But we didn't die."

Pidge replied with only a huff

"There was an insanely high chance we could have died!" Hunk nervously stuttered.

"But we didn't die!"

Keith didn't take his eyes off the road, but Lance suspected if he could have, he and Pidge would be glaring at each other vehemently. He wanted to defend the black haired boy, but he didn't think it would be appreciated, and he wanted to make sure that Keith liked him.

The small group of humans stopped when they reached a small shack in the middle of the sandy expanse. It looked broken down, lonely, and old. Lance's heart ached with the thought that Keith had to stay here in this small cabin alone, with not a single soul around for miles.

But still, he entered the cabin with everyone else.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Lance was surprised to say the least when the five humans wandered around the desert looking for something that probably didn't exist. He did it for Keith. Lance would do anything for Keith.

Realistically, Lance knew it was not good for someone to spend hours on end in the desert with the sun shining down. Especially when they had limited supplies, and limited time. He wanted nothing more than to take Keiths arm and drag him back to the shack where they could rest in the shade

But he knew Keith would protest, and the actions might even make Keith hate him. If that were to happen...Well Lance wasn't sure what he would do.

"Ugh, how much longer are we gonna trapeze around the desert looking for some weapon? Are we even sure that it's out here?" Pidge griped from where he was walking next to Hunk. His glasses glinted in the sunlight, causing a glare in the corner of Lance's eye.

Shiro sighed and wiped a hand across his forehead, "I'm sure we'll find Voltron soon, we just need to persevere through this."

Keith took a big gulp from canteen of water at his hip and then wiped at his forehead. Lance watched him swallow, and took a gulp himself for a completely different reasons as he watched the boys adam's apple bob.

Shaking his head, Lance focused back on the conversation at hand, "I know it has to be around here somewhere. Hunk, are you sure that you're device is working properly? You said that it would be able to track the signals, but it only seems to be making us wander aimlessly."

Hunk mumbled something under his breath as Pidge squawked indignantly, "Yes, I'm sure it works. This thing, Voltron, it seems very far out here. But we're close."

Pidge huffed from next to him, obviously mad that someone had insulted his work, even though he had been complaining only moments before. Lance pursed his lips as he hefted the backpack he was being forced to carry further up on his shoulders.

"Let's just continue. I don't want to stay here all day. It's hot and annoying!" He complained.

"I agree with Lance."

The blue-eyed boy nodded in appreciation to Hunk and the group continued walking.

Eventually, after another hour of walking, they reached a cave that caused Pidge and Hunk's sensor to go haywire.

They entered the cave, turning on the flashlights that they had stored for this very occasion. Lance looked around in slight awe of the place. Ancient markings half faded with time covered the walls depicting lions and some sort of men in battle.

"So Voltron is supposed to be in this cave?" Pidge asked as he stored the device in his own backpack.

Shiro responded by gently touching the walls and whispering, "It has to be."

Lance felt the urge to touch the walls as well. Something deep in his soul called out and told him to do it. And so he did.

Touching the wall with just the tips of his fingers, the boy let out a breath. The symbols on the wall light with a deep blue as if responding to his touch. He jumped back, surprise flickering over his entire body. The others had the same reaction, jumping back as well until every single one of them was touching each other.

The ground beneath their feet started to crumble, each and every single one of them stumbling as they lost their balance and fell into the hole. A small yelp left Lance's lips.

Cold soaked into his bones as water soaked him through as he landed in a shallow pool of water. Pain shot up his back when he landed on the stone.

When he opened his eyes, emotions he couldn't name flooded through his bloodstream. Amazement at the thing in front of him swelled in his chest, but it was dwarfed by something that clicked into place. Something so much like his love for Keith filled him to the seems, until he felt like he was going to burst.

Lance could only bend to their call until he was standing in front of the golden barrier, staring at the lion behind it. Something in his body yearned to touch the lion, to answer this strange call.

And it confused Lance to no end.

He thought there was only supposed to be one thing that could make him feel human. His mother had said there was only one human who could complete him, and that had been Keith. Yet this machine also completed him.

It called deep into his soul tugging at the little humanity inside his chest.

"How do we get to it." Keith's voice knocked Lance out of his reverie. He glanced over at the boy and smiled.

"Maybe we just knock!"

His fist met the barrier and he was filled with warmth that spread throughout his entire system. He nearly doubled over as thoughts not his own flowed into his head, filled with joy and pride and awe.

My Cub!

Lance walked until he was touching the metallic lion, staring at it as he experienced emotions he thought only one person could give to him.

The rest of the day was a blur.

XXxXxXxX

After months in space as Paladin of the Blue Lion, fighting side by side with Keith and no one to steal Keith from him, Lance was living the dream.

He could finally experience life like every other human had. His mother spoke true when she said one day he would experience living. It was amazing.

It had its downsides, but he even loved those! He was no longer this empty shell anymore.

Of course, when the Altean alien had told Lance he and Keith would be doing a mission together while Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge worked on something else, he was ecstatic. Even if it only acting as a distraction.

They boarded the ship, got into position, and began their mission.

The two Paladin rounded the corner and ran right into the ships commander. Keith had jumped in front of Lance to protect him from the blow of a sword and everything went red.

XxXxXxXxX

Keith took a step back as Lance wildly fought the Galra. His side burned with pain from the wound said Galra had inflicted upon him earlier in the fight.

He couldn't say he knew what had happened. The mission was going fine, Lance seemed fine. They knew they would run into the galra, it was a part of their job on this mission. Stalk the hallway and get as many galra and drones to their location as soon as possible so the rest of the team would be able to extract information and the quintessence vials without interference.

The glara commander gurgled when Lance finally got a lucky hit. The jagged piece of metal he was using to fight lodged into its jugular vein.

Lance was muttering nonsense in spanish as he continued to stab the commander until it stopped moving. His breathing was hard and ragged, his blue eyes fixed on the alien glittering with anger and raw hatred.

"Lance?" Keith questioned, carefully stepping closer to the boy.

The brunette looked up at him, eyes narrow, pupils small, mouth slightly parted.

"Lance, we-," he paused, unnerved by the look Lance was giving him, "We should continue on. The others are probably waiting for us."

"They're busy with their part of the job. They aren't waiting for us yet. Stay behind me and we'll complete our part of the mission." The Cuban boy practically spat, still glaring at the still corps of the Galra commander.

Keith thought better than to deny Lance of what he wanted until the boy had calmed down. Keith was fifty percent sure that Lance would not kill him, but there was no promise. Not when he'd never dealt with this Lance before.

The Blue Paladin reached a hand out to take Keith's, who allowed the contact though it madeh his skin crawl, and began to walk down the dimly lit hallways.

They were strangely empty, like the rest of the soldiers had seen what Lance had done and thought better than to attack. Lance looked left and right, and muttered something under his breath.

"What?"

The boy looked at Keith, "Hmm?"

"You said something. What did you say?"

"I was just thinking about how empty the ship is. This is bad. The others are probably in danger."

Keith nodded, "If you hadn't gone ballistic on the commander, we'd probably be running from a hoard of things. Not that I'm not grateful, but we failed our part of the plan."

Lance gave him a side glance and Keith felt something jitter up his spine. He'd never seen Lance that hungry, that angry.

"I was protecting what is mine. Sorry if I freaked you out."

Protecting what's yours?" Keith stopped and turned to fully stare at the blue paladin, "Since when was I your possession?"

"Your not…" Lance sighed, "Listen, I'll explain everything when we get back to the castle. I promise. Let's just go and help the others, make sure this entire plan isn't just a bust."

Keith pursed his lips but nodded, "Ok."

XxXxXxXxX

Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge were all waiting in the loading bay, bayards drawn and disappointed grimaces. Hunk didn't have a grimace, it was more like a displeased pout.

"I thought you were supposed to be on distraction duty." Pidge growled, deactivating her bayard and boarding Green next to Lance. Keith has split to ride Black with Shiro and Hunk.

"We were! But something came up." Lance mumbled back.

Shiro sighed over the coms, "Why don't we just celebrate everyone being alright and get back to the castle. We need to get these quintessence vials to Allura so she can study it and I'm sure Pidge would like to get back to her search."

The Paladins rode the rest of the way in silence.

When they got back to the castle, Allura and Coran greeted them brightly. They were happy the mission had gone well.

Keith pulled Lance to the side as all the others left the hangers and turned to face him.

"You said you'd explain."

"Right." Lance stared at Keith for a moment, studying to violet eyes that always seemed to mesmerize him. The need in his chest grew and almost doubled when he felt something else slip into his bloodstream.

The Blue Lion, as weird as a sentient mechanical lion was, it had helped him deal with his urges and keep track of his emotions as he acclimated to being so close to his soulmate.

Though it had a habit of strengthening his desires when it melded like this. Lance took a deep breath and steadied himself.


End file.
